Horned Lark

~Abilash

During the EVS session on Animal kindom, our guide Ravi Alunganthi suggested us to do a poster on any specific bird we were interested in. Each one of us chose a bird to be presented. Taking the  Horned Lurk, I googled its different characteristics such as name, habitat, diet, nesting, lifespan etc. Each individual presented their bird to the team, where we shared additional knowledge. The aim of the poster was for the students to get a better innate understanding of birds. As an activity given to the students during the lock down, a  student had shown interest and made her poster on Peacock.

Name: Horned Lark

Scientific Name: Eremophia alpestris

Family: Lark

Habitat: Prairies, fields, airports, shores, tundra. Inhabitants generally in open grounds, avoiding areas with trees or even bushes.

Diet: Feeds on small seeds from a great variety of grasses, weeds. Many insects are also eaten, especially in summer, when they may make up half of the total diet.

Eggs: Lays 2 to 5 eggs. Pale grey to greenish-white, blotched and spotted with brown. Incubation is by female, about 10-12 days.

Nesting: Often nests quite early in spring. Male defends nesting territory by singing, either on the ground or in flight. In-flight song display, male flies up steeply in silence, often to several hundred feet above the ground, then hovers and circles for several minutes while singing; finally dives steeply toward the ground. Nest site is on open ground, often next to grass clump, piece of dried cow manure, or other objects. Nest (built by female) is a slight depression in the ground, lined with grass, weeds, rootlets, with the inner lining of fine grass or plant down. One side of the nest often has a flat “doorstep” of pebbles.